April 19, 2018

Brush with cancer inspires career in nursing

Alana O’Reilly determined to make hospital experiences memorable for the right reasons. 

Just before commencing her Higher School Certificate, Alana O’Reilly received the devastating news that she had cancer.

Alana, ever the optimist, said the treatment she received while going through the hardest challenge of her life opened her eyes to a whole new career path.

“I had my treatment at the hospital in Liverpool and they had really amazing nurses,” she said.

“It was such a wonderful aspect of the whole experience and it really inspired me to pursue nursing once I was through it all.”

Diagnosed with blood cancer, Alana spent year 12 in hospital undertaking chemotherapy and various treatments. She persisted with her schooling, taking her books into the hospital to make sure she didn’t fall behind and could complete her HSC.

“It was pretty hectic, but it was really good to have the support of the hospital staff. They would help me study while I was in there getting treatment, so I had a lot of support around me,” she said.

“I’d never experienced much of that [hospital] environment before, I never thought I would end up in nursing – but that experience changed me.”

With a strong support network behind her, Alana completed her HSC with the rest of her class and enrolled in a nursing degree at UOW.

Alana will today (Thursday 19 April) graduate from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Nursing.

Also an aspiring actor, Alana juggled her nursing studies at UOW with part-time acting roles, appearing in several well-known Australian television shows, including the most recent series of Love Child.

“Acting has always been a dream of mine, so once I got better I thought why not try and do both [nursing and acting],” she said.

“I’ve had a few little guest roles on TV which has been really good, and funnily enough I’ve been cast as a nurse four times!”

Now working full-time in a graduate position at a respite clinic in Bowral, Alana has high hopes to start her course as a student midwife next year.

“Quite a few members of my family have faced difficulties with having children, so I think midwifery is where I can give back and make that scary time a little less traumatising,” she said.

Alana believes compassion is the most essential part of being a nurse.

“I think it’s really important to see a patient for the person they are, rather than just their condition. Believe in their autonomy, and that they’re an actual person not just a number in the system,” she said.

“My goal is to always make someone’s hospital experience memorable for the right reasons – because that’s what happened to me.”